Naruto: Take Two
by teenagewriter
Summary: Everyone always makes Jiraiya out to be a self-centered man who abandons Naruto for his own pleasures. I, however, like to come up with a different theory. While this topic may be overused, this story is about what happens when Jiraiya takes in Naruto at an earlier age and becomes Naruto's father-figure. Rated T for future chapters.
1. Naruto Meets Jiraiya

**A/N: Everyone always makes Jiraiya out to be a self-centered man who abandons Naruto for his own pleasures. I, however, like to come up with a different theory. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters.**

* * *

As it was a few days before his 7th birthday, Naruto was scrummaging for extra food so he would be able to eat while hiding from the villagers. Naruto has been beaten almost daily for as long as he can remember, but his birthday, October 10th was always the worst. Managing to find a few scraps of food, Naruto brings his findings to a small cave he found after being kicked out of the orphanage a year ago. While he has no money, Naruto has managed to touch up the place with a few odds and ends he's found on the side of the road.

Before he has to hid, Naruto decides to see if Old Man Teuchi and Ayame will give him a little bit of ramen for supper.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hiruzen is sitting in his office glaring at all the paperwork he had to do when one of his old students suddenly comes in. "Jiraiya-kun! How have you been? It's been a while since you last visited."

"Fine, sensei. Where's my godson?" Jiraiya was livid. He had stopped by the orphanage on his way to the Hokage tower but was angered when he had heard the news that Naruto had been kicked out a year ago.

"Isn't he at the orphanage?"

"He was kicked out a YEAR ago! I thought you had ANBU looking out for him!"

"Well, I-"

"No. I'm taking my godson with me when I leave."

"I can't let you do that; the council will have a fuss! When would you even bring him back?!"

"I can and I will. The only reason he comes back is _if_ he wants to come back. It's his decision." With that, Jiraiya walked out of Hiruzen's office in search of Naruto.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can only afford to give you one bowl of ramen." Teuchi felt bad. He knew Naruto needed more food than the scraps he normally found, but by giving the so-called "demon child" free food, Teuchi loses business.

Right as Naruto was about to leave, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Ya know, kid, you're hard to find!"

Naruto looked up to see an older man take a seat beside him. "_You_ were looking for _me_?" Naruto didn't know what to think. Normally, when people went looking for him it was to hurt him; this man seemed friendly.

"Why of course! You and I need to have a chat. But first, I think lunch is in order; whatever you want, it's on me!" Naruto didn't know this man yet, but how could he give up free food?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto thanked the man and started to leave when he heard his name called out.

"Hey! Naruto! Where do you think you're going, kid? My name is Jiraiya by the way."

"I was going back to my home…" Naruto mumbled. After a full meal, a nap sounded like a good plan.

"Well, we still need to talk, so how about you come over to my place for the night. You look like you could use a bath and a good night's sleep anyhow." Naruto nodded and graciously followed Jiraiya back to his home.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

As Jiraiya let Naruto into his house, he gave a brief description of the layout. "The spare bedroom and bath is just down this hall, second door on the right. Why don't you clean up and I'll make sure you have some clean clothes to change into." As Naruto bathed, Jiraiya quickly washed and dried his clothes, making a mental note to get him some more before they left.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto walked into the sitting room to find Jiraiya waiting for him. "How do you know me?"

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about, Naruto." Naruto simply nodded and sat down, ready to listen.

"Like I said, my name is Jiraiya. I'm one of the Leaf's Sannin, but more importantly, I knew your father." Naruto's eyes widened at this. "The council doesn't want you to know anything of what I'm about to tell you, but I feel you have a right to know. Your father was my student, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. He, along with your mother Kushina Uzumaki, died the night you were born. They were killed the night the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village. The Kyuubi is a mass of chakra and cannot be killed. In order to defeat it, your father did the only thing he could think of and sealed it away. The Kyuubi is too strong to seal it into an object; it would simply just break out. Instead Minato sealed it into a newborn baby. As much as he hated himself for it, your father sealed the Kyuubi in you; believing he couldn't ask another parent to give up his or her child when he could not do it himself and knew that you would be able to handle it. Both of your parents loved you very much and would be horrified at the treatment you have received. While your father wished for you to be seen as a hero for holding back the Nine-Tailed Fox, many villagers believe that you are just a reincarnation of the Kyuubi. Their actions are not justified, but they treat you the way they do because they are scared. However, you, yourself are NOT the Kyuubi. Naruto looked shaken. At this point, Jiraiya pulled out a kunai knife and a simple sealing scroll. Holding up the kunai, Jiraiya asked, "Naruto, what is this?"

"A kunai knife."

"Correct. And this?" This time the scroll was held up.

"A scroll…" Jiraiya then proceeded to seal the knife within the scroll."

"Alright, now how about this."

"A scroll with a kunai knife sealed inside."

"It's not a knife…?"

"No, the knife is inside. This is just a scroll."

"Exactly. See, Naruto, the villagers are wrong. You are not the Kyuubi, it is simply sealed inside of you, understand?" Naruto nodded, finally understanding why he had been treated the way he had. "Do you have any questions?" Naruto thought for a little while then nodded. "Alright, ask away."

"You said you knew my father, but how do you know me?"

"Your father named me as your godfather."

"If you're my godfather, where have you been? Why did I have to live in the orphanage if I had family?"

"I have a very important job as a Spymaster. I had asked Sarutobi if I could bring you with me but the council rejected it. They didn't think all of my traveling would be a good environment for a baby. They opted to put you in the orphanage under your mother's maiden name to keep you safe. I only agreed to it because Sarutobi promised me he would always have someone watching out for you, making sure you ate well and had a place to stay."

"Well, that wasn't the case. Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I came back to give Sarutobi a report since I was in the area. Until now, he always sent me letters updating me on your situation."

"What's gonna happen to me now?"

"I'm taking you with me and after your birthday I will start training you to be a ninja."

"REALLY?!" Naruto jumped up at the thought of becoming a ninja. When he could, he sneaked over to the Academy and watched the kids learning to fight. "But I thought you couldn't take me with you."

"Yeah, well, I don't care. They can't treat my godson like this and expect to get away with it. Tomorrow we are going to get you some new clothes and then set out on our journey! But first, I think we both need a good night's sleep." With that, both Jiraiya and Naruto headed to bed; Naruto dreaming about his upcoming trip.

* * *

**A/N: And that's a wrap! Naruto might have seemed a bit OOC but I reason that fending for oneself for about a year makes way for a lot of maturing. Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar issues.**


	2. Shopping Trip!

**A/N: Well, here's chapter two! Quick note, since I don't know that much about Japanese culture, the foods will be a mix between common Japanese and American food. I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters.**

* * *

It was a new feeling for Naruto to wake up and find someone waiting for him with breakfast already made.

"Good morning, gaki! You're just in time for breakfast!" With that, Jiraiya put down a bowl of miso soup with rice on the side. "I know it may not be extravagant, but it's a good filling meal before we leave." Naruto was beside himself. It's been a long time since he had a warm, home-cooked meal for breakfast; he practically inhaled it!

"Whoa! Slow down, son! There's more where that came from, but shoveling it down that fast will make you sick!" Naruto complied; feeling a strange tingling when Jiraiya said son.

When the two were done with breakfast and had cleaned up, Jiraiya spoke up. "Naruto, are there any personal items you'd like to take with?" Naruto thought about this for a minute. Everything he owned was holed up in his cave, although none of it was personal, he would like to clean it all up. "Before we go, could I make a quick stop?"

"Sure, but we also need to get you some new outfits and equipment." The two then started their day by heading to Naruto's old cave.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Jiraiya was shocked a felt a little guilty. While he knew Naruto probably didn't have the best living conditions considering his attire was filthy, he was saddened to see the cave his godson called home. _This is no place for a child, I should've checked on him sooner. _With these revelations, Jiraiya vowed to be the best father-figure he could be to Naruto. Satisfied that he had cleaned out his things from the cave; Naruto was ready to start an adventure with his new mentor. Sensing Naruto was ready to leave, Jiraiya led him to a shop he knew would give Naruto no trouble.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Nishio Toru looked up from his catalog when he heard the door to his shop open.

"Toru-san, it's been a while! What do you have in store for me today?"

"Well, Jiraiya-sama, I actually just got a new shipment of supplies yesterday. Oh, and who's this young lad?" Toru was shocked to see the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in his shop. _He's not old enough to be an academy student yet, is he?_

"This is my student, Naruto. Naruto, this is Nishio Toru, weapon extraordinaire! If you ever need new shinobi gear or replace some equipment, Toru is the man to go to! Why don't you look around and find some things you like; Toru and I need to make a list of everything you'll need." Naruto just nodded, he was in awe of all the different ninja supplies around the room. Jiraiya smiled and turned back to Toru, lowering his voice a little bit.

"Jiraiya-sama, is he an academy student already? He looks so young…"

"No, Sarutobi-sensei, wasn't keeping watch on him like he said he was; Naruto's been living on the streets for a while now. I'll be leaving today and I'm taking Naruto with me. We won't be back for a while so if we need some things I'll just send a toad with money and a scroll like usual. Anyways, as you can probably tell, he needs some new clothes-durable, shinobi gear that won't get ruined as easily when he starts his training. He'll also need a few sealing scrolls and starter kunai and shuriken sets. Eventually I'll have him choose a primary weapon but for now he's just learning the basics." Toru nods, going over all the supplies he has in his head. "Why don't you help him pick out some shinobi gear and I'll gather all of his equipment. If something he likes doesn't fit right, I can easily make some adjustments too." Jiraiya nodded, grateful that not all villagers are pig-headed. "Hey, Naruto, why don't you come over to the clothes section? You can worry about the katanas and tantōs later!"

"Okay, I'm coming!"

"All right, so for starters, you'll need sleepwear, casual clothes, and training gear. Sleepwear is easy; all you really need is your boxers and a shirt. What's your favorite color?"

"Orange!"

"Rule number one: avoid bright colors and loud noises, they bring attention to you. You cannot have bright colored clothes. I will allow dull or dark oranges though." Naruto looked through the racks of sleepwear, pulling some shirts and a few pants. "Can I go try these on?"

"Yep, just make sure you show me how they fit. Clothes that are too tight or too loose will be a problem." After trying on the sleepwear, Naruto decided he liked five of the shirts and two of the pants. "Alright bud, if those are the ones you want, go put them on the counter and Toru will set them aside for you. Grab a few sets of boxers as well." As Naruto walked up to the counter, Jiraiya put back the unwanted items. "Now for casual wear, you'll need a little bit of everything: pants, shorts, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, etcetera, etcetera…" While it took longer than sleepwear, Naruto basically just picked anything that fit; he wasn't too picky, he was just happy to be getting new clothes. "Now comes the hard part, shinobi gear. Training can be rough, so you will need light yet durable clothes. By this time, Toru had gathered Naruto's equipment and joined the two again, making suggestions and adjustments when needed. Pretty soon, Naruto was almost set for his journey. There was just one thing left!

"Wait Naruto, while not many people wear it anymore, fishnet armor can be pretty useful."

"What is it used for?"

"While it can't completely prevent a blade from cutting you, it does stop it from digging in deeper. Fishnet requires a good fit though, so it's best if you try it on right here. Don't worry; nobody else can see you and I'll close my eyes if it makes you more comfortable. **(A/N: Jiraiya's not a pedo!) **Trusting Jiraiya, Naruto quickly took his shirt off to try on the fishnet. As he did so, Jiraiya couldn't help but to notice the faint scars on his back from the villagers' beatings. _Naruto, you will never have to experience that again. I promise you that._

* * *

**A/N: Some cute little father-son(ish) moments in there… Now Naruto and Jiraiya are ready to leave Konoha! *Sorry for any spelling/grammar problems.**


	3. Training Begins

**A/N: I've been updating kinda fast, which is unlike me; I just need to get this story out of my mind! Also, as a medic-nin I feel that Tsunade would be a morning person! P.S. I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters…**

* * *

Quickly stopping at Ichiraku's Ramen again, Jiraiya and Naruto waited until dusk to leave the village. While knowing Sarutobi wasn't going to stop him, Jiraiya didn't want to draw any attention to themselves.

"Jiraiya-sensei, where are we going for our trip?" Naruto was excited; he has never been outside the village gates!

"Well, for starters we are just going to Tanzaku Town for the night. It's a pretty large town and has some decent hotels. After tonight, we'll basically go where the wind takes us! We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and since we'll start your training we will have to move around a lot."

* * *

It was late at night when the pair reached Tanzaku Town. Normally, Jiraiya would've headed straight to the bars to find some…ehem…company, but he now had a young apprentice to look after. Instead, he headed to a hotel to find someplace to stay for the night. Settling into their room, Naruto's stomach could be heard growling. "Well, is room service okay with you, Naruto?"

"Yes, please! I don't think I can make it another foot!" With that, Naruto collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the day's travelling.

"Sounds good; but you can't have ramen, you just had that for lunch."

"But Sensei, ramen is food for the gods!" Naruto couldn't have ramen?

"That might be, but you need to start eating healthier or the training I'm going to put you through is going to make you sick."

"Alright, I guess I will have some sushi rice and please." Jiraiya ordered their food and before long Naruto was fed and fast asleep. Jiraiya smiled, happy that Naruto would have a chance at a good life. Making a mental note to find Tsunade to do a check-up on Naruto, Jiraiya lied down and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Jiraiya woke to the unpleasant rays of the sun on his face. Quietly showering and getting dressed, Jiraiya left a note for Naruto before leaving. Grabbing a few plain doughnuts and some fresh fruit for himself and Naruto, Jiraiya returned to the hotel room to find Naruto still sleeping. After getting rid of the note and then sending a letter to Tsunade via toads, Jiraiya proceeded to try and wake Naruto up. Confused, Naruto jumped up and out of bed before remembering what had happened and where he was. Smiling, Naruto thanked Jiraiya for getting breakfast and then got ready for the day.

* * *

As per usual, Tsunade woke up at dawn. After showering and getting dressed for the day, she walked out of her hotel room to Shizune up and ready too. In a small town near the border between the lands of Fire and Hot Water, the mornings were rather peaceful. Unexpectedly, a toad materialized in front of Tsunade as Shizune checked themselves out of their room. Setting her stuff down, Tsunade retrieved the letter the toad was offering.

_Dear Tsuande-hime,_

_A couple days ago when I was in Konoha to give a report to Sarutobi-Sensei, I learned that he had not upheld his promise to take care of Minato's son Naruto. Yesterday I left Konoha, taking Naruto with me. He had been living on the streets for about a year and had put up with the villagers' abuse. Because of his situation, he hasn't got the proper nutrition and I worry that it will affect his training. I'm making sure he eats healthier, but would you be able to give him a check-up? He's already too small for his age, but I want to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong going on. We are staying in Tanzaku Town for the next couple of nights but will be moving on soon. I would really appreciate it if you could help; the boy needs to know that there are people that care about him. I'll tell you more when I see you…_

_Thanks,_

_ Jiraiya_

Writing Jiraiya a response on the back of the note, Tsuande gave the letter back to the toad; smiling she dismissed the summon. "Shizune, change of plans."

* * *

Anxiously awaiting Tsunade's reply, Jiraiya sighed in relief when his toad Gamapako popped back into existence. Retrieving the letter, Jiraiya dismissed his toad, "Thanks Pako, you can leave now."

_Hello Jiraiya,_

_ You're right, we have a lot to talk about when we meet. Unfortunately, Shizune and I are about two and a half weeks away in a small village near the border between the lands of Fire and Hot Water. By now, we have already left and are travelling at top speed to get there as soon as we can._

_ See you soon,_

_ Tsunade_

Jiraiya smiled, _that's just like Tsunade, short and sweet. _Looking over to his young charge, Jiraiya just chuckled, "Son, you won't even know what hit you." Getting ready for the day, Jiraiya sent a clone to get him and Naruto breakfast.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, what's going on? I know you said we had somewhere to be, but normally we don't travel at top speed." Shizune was curious, what was so important that required full speed?

"Well, it's a little hard to explain right now because I don't have all the details myself. What I do know, is that there is a young boy out there that needs our help. Do you remember when the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked Konoha?" Shizune nodded in response. "Well, the Yondaime didn't actually kill the beast. Instead, he sealed half the chakra in him and half in an orphaned newborn, his son. Naruto hasn't been treated well, and we're going to meet him and Jiraiya so I can take a look at him. We need to move fast because Jiraiya can't stay in any one place for too long and we have no idea if or when the council will send someone to retrieve Naruto."

"If they hate him for the Fox inside of him, why would they try and get him back?"

"Some see the boy as a weapon because of the Fox, and they don't want it to fall into the wrong hands." Done with the conversation, the two women focused on the task at hand, getting to Jiraiya and Naruto as soon as possible.

* * *

As Naruto was eating his weight in the rice and grilled fish that Jiraiya had gotten him, Jiraiya started up a conversation. "So kid, are you excited to start training?" Naruto looked up from his food a nodded vigorously. Smiling, Jiraiya continued, "Well, we can start as soon as you're done eating." Naruto's eyes lit up and quickly finished his food.

* * *

Leading Naruto to a quiet opening outside the town, Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to sit down. "The first thing we're going to do today is meditate. You may not like this exercise and it may be difficult at first, but it's great exercise that will one day come in handy. Eventually, you will be accustomed to meditating when you get up before training and before going and cleaning off after training. For now, I'm just going to get you used to the idea of it." Naruto nodded. He didn't exactly like the idea of meditating but if that's what he was told to do, he was going to do it. This is the first person that showed an interest in him and he'd be damned if he was going to mess that up.

"Alright, the key to meditating is staying absolutely still, so the first step is to find a comfortable position. Generally, that means sitting down, but you will need to find what is most natural for you." Sitting with his legs crossed, Naruto waited for the next step. "Next is placement of your hands. I would recommend placing your hands either palm-up or palm-down on your knees or placing your hands into the ram seal." Not knowing how much Naruto knew about hand seals, Jiraiya made sure to show him how to make the seal. "By placing your hands on your knees, it's a very relaxed posture for you to meditate with, but by using the ram seal, you can focus your energy on your hands and relax that way too. As you learn different seals and how to meditate, you will learn what works best for you too." Placing his hands in the ram seal, Naruto waited for further instruction. "Last step is the hardest part about meditating. You need to completely clear your mind. Through meditating you should be able to feel an energy running throughout your body-that's your chakra. Feel your chakra run through your body. Okay, let's start. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, empty your mind and feel your chakra." Naruto did what he was told and worked on clearing his mind.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of trying to clear his mind, Naruto was having trouble feeling his chakra. "Sensei? I can't do it." Jiraiya opened his eyes and looked at his student. "That's fine for today. It will be hard to be able to feel your chakra when you haven't used it for jutsus. I mainly wanted you to practice sitting still and clearing your mind. Over the next few days I will be teaching you chakra control and some simple jutsus so you can learn how to use chakra. After that, you'll be able to meditate and calm your chakra." Naruto nodded, a little relieved that he was doing okay.

* * *

Stopping for a quick break, Tsunade and Shizune walked into a small tea house to get some food. "We're travelling at a good pace, we should make it to Tanzaku before Jiraiya leaves."

"Mi-Lady, how long will we be staying there?"

"I can't say for sure. If everything looks fine with Naruto it probably won't be very long. Of course, I don't know if Jiraiya has other plans for us as well..."

* * *

Alright, stand up. Let's begin with taijutsu. I'll be teaching you academy basics to start with. There are a plethora of different taijutsu styles, but the academy ones are the easiest to learn and are good to start with. Eventually, you will either learn my style of taijutsu or you will create your own."

"Create my own?"

"Yep. But first we need to build up your strength and stamina." Taking something out of a scroll, Jiraiya handed it to the boy in front of him. Looking at the arm and ankle bands in his hands, he asked what they were for.

"These are special weights. They are specially designed to distribute the weight evenly throughout your body using a set of seals. They will help you build your stamina and increase your strength and speed. I'll have you start with 15 lbs. on each arm and leg. Once you get used to the feeling and aren't affected by the weight, I will slowly increase it." Naruto added the weight and could instantly feel the effect. "We'll start of simple, do 10 push-ups, sit-ups, and laps around the clearing. I want to you to focus on your form and adjusting your body to the weight. I'll be watching you warm up today, but from now on you'll be doing it by yourself before breakfast." Naruto wasn't too pleased at the idea of getting up early, but he wanted to become a ninja, so he was going to deal with it.

Jiraiya watched Naruto start and finish his warm up and began teaching him the basic katas of academy style taijutsu. Looking towards Tanzaku Town, he could only hope Tsunade would be there soon. He and Naruto weren't in any danger right now, but he doesn't know if the Council realizes Naruto's gone and if they're going to do anything about it. _Plus, I haven't seen Tsunade-hime in a while…_

**A/N: I've done a few JiraTsu stories, but how many of you would like to see Tsunade stick around in this one?**


End file.
